First Prince, You Really Were Reborn

Outside the door, the argument was drawing to a close.

"Even if Mingyue was in the wrong, you are brother and sister by blood. Do you actually intend to kill her?!"

"If not for your sake, why would I have married her to the Heir of Annam back then?!"

"Now that someone has led her astray, you intend to abandon her?"

"Mother, she tried to kill me!"

"Aren't you standing here perfectly fine?!"

"She hurt Zuo'er, too! I nearly lost my only son! He is my only legitimate son. My line nearly ended!"

"Yuanzuo is alive and well, and you still have Chengyou! Chengyou was your first son."

The Qi Emperor felt the helplessness of playing a lute to an ox. No one understood how much Yuanzuo meant to him.

"I raised Zuo'er myself, cleaning up every mess he made. The first time he lifted his head, the first time he crawled, the first time he walked, the first time he called me Father-all of it was for me. Even his first injury was for me!"

"He gave up half his life for me. Shouldn't I demand justice for him?!"

The Empress Dowager flew into a rage. "Are you truly determined to be a beast with a wolf's heart and a dog's lungs?!"

The Qi Emperor tipped his face toward the heavens and drew a deep breath. "Enough!"

Keeping his voice down, he said, at the end of his patience, "I honor you as Empress Dowager, but now, I am the emperor!"

The Empress Dowager raised her hand and slapped him.

The sharp crack sent everyone inside and outside the hall prostrate on the ground, trembling.

The slap knocked the Qi Emperor's face to one side. His eyes widened, bloodshot veins slowly creeping across them, while his chest heaved as though it might burst.

He had been exalted from the moment of his birth, cradled and doted on like a precious treasure by his imperial grandfather!

The emperor's dark pupils, like two pools of ink so dense they seemed sinister, fixed a cold, sidelong stare on the old hag who had affronted his imperial authority.

The Empress Dowager regretted the slap the moment she delivered it, but spilled water could not be gathered again. Under his stare, she felt as though she were facing a tiger baring bloodstained fangs, and fear briefly stirred in her heart.

A moment later, she only loathed him more.

An unfilial son raised by that bitch-nothing like me!

Then she remembered that she held half the military tally and still controlled the affairs of state.

The pillars of the court all stood on her side, and she immediately relaxed.

As though needles had sprouted beneath her feet, she impatiently flung out a threat:

"I will tolerate this for seven more days at most. If you do not release Mingyue within seven days, there is no telling what the Prince of Annam might do."

Annam's geographical position made it the bridgehead for the Central Plains' influence to extend into the Indochinese Peninsula.

Controlling Annam allowed the Central Plains to keep the peninsula's vassal states in check and ensure that its tributary system continued to function.

Now the Empress Dowager was using Annam to threaten him. It was like demanding that a fierce tiger live with its tail tucked between its legs, or else have that tail cut off!

Having thrown out those words, the Empress Dowager left, her steps more hurried than usual.

For the first time, the Qi Emperor learned that when a person's fury reached its limit, they could become utterly calm.

The late autumn leaves were withered and yellow, just like the bond between him and the Empress Dowager as mother and son.

The Qi Emperor held out a hand, and his attending eunuch immediately offered him a string of blood-jade beads.

The Qi Emperor rolled the beads through his fingers twice, looked at the servants kneeling throughout the courtyard, and gave two short laughs.

"Send them out."

The moment he spoke, the imperial guards surged forward, gagged them, and dragged them away. Not one dared struggle or beg through tears. Apart from boots scraping the ground, there was no sound.

"The Hall of Inherited Blessing cannot be left short of staff. Transfer some from the front hall."

Fat Eunuch bowed and went to carry out the order.

Within a few days, the staff of the Hall of Inherited Blessing had been replaced twice. In the palace, human lives were worth the least of all.

Someone inside the hall wet themselves in terror and was immediately dragged out. The others remained steadily on their knees.

The Qi Emperor glanced at them, then sat beside Qi Yuanzuo's bed and clasped his son's warm little hand. He said nothing further, which meant they could stay.

Fat Eunuch thought that His Majesty was accumulating blessings for the crown prince.

Just then, a few noisy voices sounded outside.

Fat Eunuch immediately went out and found that it was the Eldest Prince, Qi Chengyou.

He sought His Majesty's instructions.

The Qi Emperor leisurely rolled the blood-jade beads through his fingers. Zuo'er had only just awakened, and already someone had come.

"Show him in."

Fat Eunuch immediately went to fetch him.

Qi Chengyou was the Qi Emperor's eldest son, six years old that year, born while the emperor was still a prince.

Ordinarily, a father ought to feel closer to his eldest son. The Qi Emperor was different: he disliked this son.

The reason was unknown.

Fat Eunuch had been the first to notice. As for everyone else, they dared not presume to fathom the imperial mind, and naturally knew nothing of the dislike in the emperor's heart.

Qi Chengyou resembled his mother, with a round face. At six, he had yet to shed his baby fat, and his cheeks were still plump. His hair was tied into twin topknots, and his noble, composed bearing made him the sort of grandson elders loved best.

"Your son pays his respects, Father. May you enjoy peace and good health."

The Qi Emperor frowned almost imperceptibly. "Rise."

He kept his voice low and deep, afraid of disturbing the little boy in bed.

Taking the hint, Qi Chengyou lowered his voice as well.

"Father, I heard that my little brother had awakened, so I came to visit him."

The Eldest Prince tilted his head, trying to see his little brother on the bed, but the Qi Emperor blocked him so thoroughly that he could not glimpse so much as a hair.

"He is unwell and cannot play with you."

"You are six now, old enough to begin your studies. I have chosen a teacher for you."

"Junior Tutor Xi Ming is a learned man. From today onward, he will be your teacher. You must seek his guidance often. He is waiting in the rear side hall now. Go and pay your respects."

Once he began his studies, he would stay far away from Zuo'er.

Xi Ming was originally the teacher he had chosen for Zuo'er. He had granted him the post of Junior Tutor, intending to promote him to Grand Tutor after Zuo'er had met him.

Now Zuo'er will need a few years to recover, so I will teach him his first lessons myself. Having Xi Ming teach Chengyou will not be treating Xi Ming unfairly, either.

Qi Chengyou obediently replied, "Yes."

"Then I will come to see my little brother another day. Father, there are dark circles beneath your eyes. Please take care of yourself and eat properly."

The Qi Emperor said, "I know. You may withdraw."

Once Qi Chengyou stepped outside, he could not help clenching his fists.

Who wants the trash Qi Yuanzuo doesn't want?! A fucking Junior Tutor-as if I give a damn!

In my previous life, I already knew that old emperor played favorites. But now that I've lived again, can this fucking thing even be called favoritism? His heart has gone and grown inside Qi Yuanzuo!

The teacher Qi Yuanzuo hacked to death in my previous life-let's go meet him.